1 There had been an increasing number of cases involving bird-to-human transmission of H5N1,
with resultant severe and fatal human infections,2 heightening concerns that potential reassortment of influenza virus genes could give rise to a human pandemic influenza A virus. In response to this, Australian hostelers indicated moderate concern about acquiring avian influenza,3 which was higher than the level of concern regarding terrorism while traveling abroad, but lower than the level of general concern for personal safety.4 In 2009, both the global financial crisis http://www.selleckchem.com/products/ve-821.html (GFC) and Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 impacted on travel, with global travel decreasing 4% to 880 million international arrivals.5 The GFC and Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 may well have had some impact on tourism in Australia. Seasonally adjusted estimates demonstrated that there were monthly decreases in short-term visitor arrivals of 0.2% for April, 1.7% for May, 5.1% for June, 1.2% for July, and 3.3% for August during the height of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009.6 Seasonally adjusted estimates of short-term resident departures from Australia appeared to be less affected with a 10% increase
for April, virtually no change for May, a 0.4% decrease for June, and a 9.7% increase for July 2009.6 Information on trends on short-term resident departures were suspended thereafter.6 During the evolving Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, the Exoribonuclease Australian Government introduced a number of measures that were directed at both Staurosporine cost in-coming and out-going travelers.7 In-coming travelers were subject to increased screening for influenza. Australian travel advisories briefed outgoing travelers on Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 precautions before, during, and after travel. They also detailed what travelers may be subjected to if they were suspected of having Pandemic (H1N1)
abroad and to consider postponing travel if they had influenza-like symptoms.8 Little is known about the extent to which Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 created concern among Australian travelers and how this may have impacted on their travel plans, particularly if they had influenza-like symptoms themselves. The objective of this study was to examine Australian’s level of concern regarding travel during the height of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and how this impacted on their travel. Data for this study were collected as part of the Queensland Social Survey (QSS) 2009. QSS is an annual state-wide survey conducted by the Population Research Laboratory (PRL) in Central Queensland (CQ) University’s Institute for Health and Social Science Research. Through a cost-sharing arrangement, QSS enables researchers and policy-makers to incorporate questions into the survey.